3 candidates have announced for new 66th Assembly District seat

Three candidates have already announced their intentions to run next year in a newly created state Assembly district that takes in much of the South Bay.

Businessman Craig Huey on Tuesday formally told supporters that he plans to run against fellow Republican Nathan Mintz, who already has expressed his interest in running for the new 66th Assembly District, which was created last summer by an independent redistricting panel.

The district takes in Manhattan Beach, Gardena, Torrance, Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach, Lomita, the Palos Verdes Peninsula and the unincorporated area known as west Carson.

Torrance Unified school board member Al Muratsuchi told supporters last weekend that he's entering the race as a Democrat.

"The problems in Sacramento are probably worse than the problems in Washington, D.C.," said Huey, who lost to Janice Hahn in the July runoff to replace Democrat Jane Harman in the 36th Congressional District, which stretches from Venice to San Pedro.

"Decisions are not being made in Sacramento to turn the state around," Huey said. "I'm not running to get a job or to kowtow to the special interests. I'm going to be the career politician's worst enemy."

Muratsuchi, a deputy attorney general who was elected six years ago to the Torrance school board, held a reception Saturday to discuss his run for Assembly. He opted out of running for the 53rd Assembly District seat just months after announcing his candidacy in 2009, saying he didn't have time for a political campaign.

"Over 93 percent of the Torrance school district's revenues come from Sacramento, so I know firsthand what the consequences of the dysfunction in Sacramento means for our schools and our communities," said Muratsuchi, who jumped into the race nearly two months ago.

"We had our district's budget cut by 25 percent over the past four years, but we still succeeded in balancing our budget every year by making tough fiscal decisions," Muratsuchi said. "The frustration that I've had to deal with is what's driving my run for the Assembly."

Mintz announced his intention for the new Assembly seat shortly after the California Citizens Redistricting Commission approved a new set of boundaries for the state's 53 congressional, 40 state Senate, 80 Assembly and four Board of Equalization districts.

"I've been frustrated with the gridlock in Sacramento, so I want to go up there and work for the greater good," said Mintz, an aerospace engineer and founder of the South Bay Tea Party movement who unsuccessfully ran last year for the 53rd Assembly District.

"Craig Huey is coming to the party a little late," Mintz said, taking aim at his Republican rival. "I know he feels he can write himself a big check and buy this race, but the voters of the district may have a different opinion in 2012."

Democrats have a razor-thin three-point registration advantage over Republicans in the new Assembly district.

Even though he lost the congressional showdown with Hahn last summer, Huey managed to capture a majority of votes in Torrance, Lomita, Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach and El Segundo.

Mintz pulled off a similar feat last November, when he won most South Bay cities but lost heavily in the communities surrounding Los Angeles International Airport to winner Betsy Butler in the 53rd Assembly race.

Butler has already announced that she's planning to stay in her home of Marina del Rey, which is included in the newly created 50th Assembly District. In that race, Butler faces fellow Democrat Torie Osborn, a gay activist and former aide to Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

"The 66th will be a highly competitive district and gives the South Bay Republicans the first real shot to pick up a seat in the past two decades," said Allan Hoffenblum, a former GOP consultant and publisher of the California Target Book.

"You have two Republican candidates who did relatively well after running in that area, so they have higher name recognition as they go up against a relatively unknown Democratic school board member, but I expect Muratsuchi to catch up to that very soon," Hoffenblum said. "It's going to be a very fun race to watch."